BUG REPORTING 101Created by Jonathan Ross.

THERE IS ONLY ONE RULE …

BE UNDERSTOOD. If your bug report is not understood, nothing can be fixed. If your bug report is misunderstood, things can get broken. Stage 1 in fixing any bug is reporting the problem.

OK SO MAYBE THERE ARE SUB-RULES TOO

Before we delve into that, let’s take a brief intermission to examine which bugs get fixed and which don’t:

Bugs that get fixed Bugs that don’t get fixed

BIG IMPACT affecting many end users

CNR: Hard / Impossible to reproduce.

EMBARRASSING: Does not convey professionalism.

Need strange steps to reproduce.

QUICK FIXES. NO PERCEIVED CUSTOMER IMPACT.

MONEY FEATURES EDGE CASES.

LATE DISCOVERIES: Near to release and risk greater instability.

THE SUB-RULES

1. ONE ISSUE PER TICKET: Do you know why? .. Not <because I’m Batman>

2. TITLE HAS MEANING:1. Can the Developer fix the bug NOW from the information you gave

them?2. Will you / another tester understand the bug in 3 months time?3. Did you use the right terminology?4. To paraphrase Jules from Pulp Fiction, “If you say <feature>

doesn’t work one more time…”Say Facebook Login doesn’t work one

more time. I dare you …

STEPS, STEPS AND MORE STEPS

Can I reproduce the bug using the steps written in the bug report?

Did I miss out a step?

Did I add irrelevant information / steps?

Did I include the account / test data / media used when the bug occurs?

Severity

MISSION STATEMENT / AIM / GOAL

Any bug report will provide the developer with ALL information needed to: - Understand the scenario(s) it occurs in. Be able to reproduce the bug themselves. Have all added information (screen captures, logs etc) if the description

or steps are not sufficient. Be able to fix the specific issue without losing time or asking

for more information.

FAILURE IS NOT

AN OPTION

TO SUM UP…

1. 1 issue : 1 ticket

2. Title has meaning (remember Jules and be precise)

3. Clear Detailed Description

4. Steps to reproduce: steps – expected – actual

5. Detail, detail, detail: Account, test data, media, screenshots, logs

6. Severity: do NOT cry wolf. (see bugs that do and don’t get fixed):1. Have your severity scale defined (keep it on your desk and visible).

A,B,C

Good morning now check your More Info’s, Retests and …

BLESS YOU BING

With thanks to…

Bing search

MSDN

Youtube clip of Apollo 13

Glengarry Glen Ross for the clip every office worker with targets to reach must see.